On This Day in 1967, Dolly Parton Kicked off Her Iconic Career with Her Debut Album ‘Hello, I’m Dolly’

On this day (September 18), in 1967, Dolly Parton released her debut album, Hello, I’m Dolly. The album is an early example of Parton’s songwriting prowess. At the same time, the success of the release opened many doors for the East Tennessee native including helping her land a spot on Porter Wagoner’s television show which helped launch her iconic career.

Parton released her debut single “Puppy Love” in 1959. She would go on to sporadically release six more singles over the next few years. None of those singles hit the Billboard country chart. Then, eight years after her debut single dropped, Parton delivered Hello I’m Dolly. The album peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and produced two top 40 singles—“Dumb Blonde” and “Something Fishy.”

[RELATED: 5 Dolly Parton Songs That Never Hit No. 1]

Hello, I’m Dolly Was a Perfect Introduction to Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton put her songwriting skills and her now-iconic attitude on full display with her debut album. She wrote three of the album’s twelve songs solo. For instance, she wrote “Something Fishy” alone. It peaked at No. 17 on the country chart and was the highest-charting single on the album.

Curly Putman penned “Dumb Blonde,” the other charting single from the album. However, the sheer amount of sass in the lyrics made it the perfect album opener for Parton’s debut release. Lines like  Just because I’m blonde / Don’t think I’m dumb / ‘Cause this dumb blonde ain’t nobody’s fool gave listeners a look into the future icon’s personality. Decades later, she’s still showing the world how true those words are.

Hello, I’m Dolly was also a family affair. Her uncle Bill Owens heavily supported Parton early in her career. They co-wrote seven of the songs on the album together. The album featured two songs that she and Owens wrote together that had already been hits for other artists. Bill Phillips had a No. 6 hit in 1966 with “Put It Off Until Tomorrow.” The next year, Skeeter Davis released “Fuel to the Flame” and her rendition peaked at No. 11 on the country chart.

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